Whoops – better late than never – I actually made this bag several months ago and then completely forgot to blog about it. Which is a shame because its such a great bag, I think you need to know about it! I wore it to the first day of the Sewing Weekender last Saturday and had lots of questions about it, so here you go!
The pattern/online class is The Boho Button Bag from The Stitch Sisters.
It’s a slouchy cross body shoulder bag which is fully lined and features a magnetic snap fastening. It’s an online class and after purchase, the pattern templates are downloadable and you receive several video tutorials which walk you through the whole sewing process step-by-step regardless of your sewing ability. This is a great way of sewing for those who prefer a visual method of instruction.
I absolutely love that fabric that I chose to make this bag. You will need a medium to heavy weight fabric for this project and I went for this sassy animal print velboa fabric from Minerva. This has a good structure which is perfect for holding the shape of the bag. Also, you only need half a metre! I have never sewn with this type of fabric before, it has texture and a low nap, but it didn’t give me any problems. I don’t remember using a special needle, but did need to take my time in certain areas.
You will also need a fusible fleece, which I fortunately had left over from a previous project, and some lining fabric. For the lining it was important for me to have a light coloured fabric so that it would be easy for me to find things inside the bag. I just used a cheap plain poly cotton which is a beige/peach colour and this worked out just great.
Inside the bag I just added the open pocket as suggested. This one has a line of fancy decorative stitching along the top edge (which is quite difficult to see here), but I might make a zipper pocket next time – you can certainly customize your bag inside to how you like it. A little KAM snap might be a nice fastening to add to the pocket inside also .. or you could add a cord/ribbon to keep your keys safe?
The pleats on the bag which give it it’s pretty ‘pinched in’ shape can be folded in whatever direction you like, so you can have a play around with that before sewing to help you decide which way you like them best.
The magnetic fastening is secure and really easy to fit. I think I used this antique gold 18mm Clover bag fastening. I also like how easy it is to get the strap to the right length for you before sewing. All these things are superbly explained in the videos.
I really enjoyed making this bag. It’s not the first Stitch Sisters online course that I have made, you might remember that I blogged about The Pleated Zipper Pouch a few months back which is another great little project from Nikki and Rachel. It might be worth a little look at the Stitch Sisters website if you are not familiar, because not only do they have online classes to make things, there are also classes available to help you with certain sewing techniques or equipment.
Sometimes it’s good to have a break from garment making, but to try something a little different. Bag making is a fun way of using your dressmaking skills – but without any of the problems such as fit issues that can often occur when sewing clothing. This is also potentially a project that you could use scraps of leftover fabrics for.
I like the idea of sewing this up in a denim with some pretty embroidery, or perhaps a PU pleather might be fun. So many ideas ..
Take care, I’ll be back soon,
Kathy x
